•Serenity Mansion•

Seokmin was passing by Joshua's room, not so accidentally, when he heard some raw vocals. He just leaned against the door and started to record it as an audio note.

Joshua was organising his closet while singing a song, dancing in tiny steps and dropping random adlibs.

It was when Joshua turned around and flinched at the sight of the younger standing against the door, "You scared me."

"I was just enjoying my free concert." Seokmin chuckled, "Please continue."

"I- You-" Joshua's eyes widened, "You heard it all? Shit."

"Wow you're literally singing with this door open and don't want anyone to hear?" Seokmin walked into the room while closing the door, "Who won't stop to listen this heavenly voice?"

Joshua was flustered at the sudden compliment, "Yeah shut up, whatever."

"You don't believe me?" Seokmin pulled out his phone and played the recording, "Listen to it yourself."

"What the-" Joshua gasped, "You recorded it?"

"Couldn't help." Seokmin grinned, "Sorry."

"No delete it. It's so bad." Joshua tried to snatch the phone.

"No what are you talking about? I would rather make it my ringtone." Seokmin raised the phone high.

"Seokmin I swear-" Joshua clutched on the younger's shirt to jump and take the phone, "Delete it."

"Why are you so worried? It's actually really good, hyung." Seokmin admired while safe guarding the phone.

"It isn't, I know." Joshua frowned, "You just have to compliment everything I do."

Seokmin held the older's waist to halt him, "True. Because everything you do is worth complimenting."

Joshua stared at the younger as he gulped hard, "Uh- leave me."

"On one condition." Seokmin whispered, "Sing for me."

"NO WAY! You'll probably run away." Joshua rolled his eyes.

"Why are you saying this? You actually sing really well." Seokmin whined, "Just once? Okay I'll sing along with you. The song you were just singing."

They parted away slowly as Joshua hesitantly began singing, "Shadow my shadow my shadow, I don't want anyone to see you. Shadow my shadow my shadow, oh, I know you're me too."

Seokmin harmonized with him after which he offered him his hand. Joshua accepted it as the younger guided it to his own shoulder while he himself wrapped his arm around the older's waist. They both intertwined their spare hands and began to sway steadily.

"Shadow my shadow my shadow, I don't want to hide it, I wanna hold your hand."

"Even my darkness will shine brightly, baby I'm a shadow of you."

With that, they continued to sing and dance as they got more and more comfortable in each other's arms. Their giggles erupted as they ended the song.

"Wow you sing so well." Joshua admired, "And dance too. You're like a professional."

"Oh please- as if you yourself weren't eating that up." Seokmin rolled his eyes playfully.

"I was actually feeling really cold earlier. My hands were literally frozen." Joshua stated, "But now I feel so warm."

"Let me know when you feel cold again, I'll be there." Seokmin chuckled.

"Where do you learn these cheesy lines from?" Joshua smacked the younger's chest gently.

"They come up themselves whenever I see you." Seokmin winked.

"Woah seriously-" Joshua laughed, "I wonder how you're still single?"

"Well, you can help me change my relationship status." Seokmin teased the older.

"Very smooth." Joshua giggled, "I'm laughing so much that I almost teared up. You're one of a kind."

"Anyways, what were you doing?" Seokmin asked as he laid on the bed side ways. He was just casually chilling.

Joshua went to continue his work, "Nothing. I was organising my closet to release stress. But when you came here, I forgot that I was feeling anxious."

"Anxious? Why though?" Seokmin got concerned.

"I don't know, random mood swings." Joshua shrugged, "Why are you laying on my precious shirt?"

"Oh sorry." Seokmin passed the cloth to the older.

Joshua gave him a threatening look which was rather adorable after which he turned around to face his closest.

Seokmin clutched his chest, trying to calm his racing heart. He was just so down bad for the older and was actually searching for a moment to reveal his feelings to him.

As soon as possible.

"Shua hyung, are you free this weekend?" Seokmin asked.

"Yeah, what am I going to do in the weekend anyways." Joshua retorted, "Do you have any plans?"

"I was thinking to make one and keep it a surprise for you." Seokmin chuckled.

"Really?" Joshua turned around.

"Yeah, will you come?" Seokmin looked at the older.

"Will there be food?"

"Of course."

"Then I'm in." Joshua laughed.

"Yeah and the main dish will be Lee Seokmin, respectfully, a full course meal."

"You know how wrong that sounds, right?" Joshua suppressed his grin.

"Ignore." Seokmin scoffed, "So okay done, we'll go out together this weekend. If you dare to change this plan, I'll surely hunt you down."

"As you say Mr. Lee." Joshua chuckled.

It was when both of them heard some noises from the hallway.

"YAH YOU BITCH!"

"He called you a bitch."

"FUCK OFF."

"You can't lose!"

"THAT'S MINE YOU FUCKER."

"Show him, who's the real boss."

They were clearly Seungkwan and Dino as the main characters accompanied by Mingyu and Hoshi's gaslighting and Minghao, Vernon, Jun, laughing in the background.

"Why are they possessed at this time?" Joshua scoffed.

"Let's see." Seokmin stood up as both of them approached the door.

Seokmin was the first to peak into the hallway and at the same moment, Seungkwan's flying slipper hit his head.

"Oh shit." Joshua immediately held his arm to pull him in.

Everyone else in the hallway stopped the war as they clearly saw Seokmin getting hit. All of them gathered around him.

Joshua held his forehead, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine I'm fine." Seokmin assured, "Don't worry."

"I'm sorry hyung." Seungkwan looked at him, "I actually threw it at Dino but you popped out of nowhere."

"Yeah now we need traffic lights in the hallway too." Joshua sarcastically stated.

"Let's slide away." Hoshi whispered to the others except for the two at fault, "Shua hyung is mad."

Everyone rushed out, leaving the youngest ones alone. Vernon stayed because of Seungkwan.

"Sorry hyung." Seungkwan and Dino stated.

"You guys seriously-" Joshua sighed.

"Hyung it's fine-" Seokmin intervened but Joshua he halted him, "You don't even know how crazy they are. Mingyu once got hit by a bowl. Be glad that you just received a slipper."

"I'm sorry but you both are as crazy as everyone." Vernon suppressed his grin.

"Hyung they were involved too." Dino whined while pointing at the back.

"Who?" Joshua crossed his arms against his chest.

Dino and Seungkwan turned around to see no one was there.

"They ran away." Vernon whispered.

"I'll see them." Dino muttered.

"Me too." Seungkwan offered his hand to Dino, "Deal."

"Deal, let's go." Dino and Seungkwan walked out in determination while Vernon followed in oblivion.

"Did they just make up like that?" Joshua sighed, "They can't be helped."

"It's okay hyung." Seokmin laughed it off.

"Are you seriously, fine?" Joshua worriedly asked.

"Of course." Seokmin assured, "You look mesmerizing while worrying about me."

"Here we go again." Joshua rolled his eyes playfully after which both of them laughed together.

"Aren't you a bit too happy to move on?"

"Yeah, forgot us that easily?"

"We knew it was all your drama for six years, nothing genuine."

"You don't give a damn about us."

"You're the worst. How can you forget our love and care for you?"

"We were literally waiting for you!"

"You didn't even think about us before moving on like that. You're pathetic."

"Now we think, it was better that you left us."

"N-no! N- h n-o!" Jeonghan shivered in his sleep as he clutched the sheets tightly and his forehead was covered with sweat.

Seungcheol woke up by Jeonghan's little voices and he was taken aback by the younger's miserable state.

"Jeonghan." Seungcheol shook him, "Wake up! What happened?"

Jeonghan opened his eyes only to realise that it was a dream. A nightmare to be more precise.

He immediately snuggled into Seungcheol's embrace, "They hate me."

"What?" Seungcheol caressed his back.

"They don't want me to move on. They'll hate me. I'm so bad." Jeonghan sniffled.

"Jeonghan? No one hates you." Seungcheol tried to break the hug to look at the younger, "Listen to me- no please listen here."

Jeonghan slowly looked up as Seungcheol cupped his cheeks and wiped his tears. He kissed his forehead, "Why would they hate you? Because you're finally trying to cope up from your anxiety? Really? Tell me one thing, do you trust me?"

"I do." Jeonghan muttered.

"Then if I was at their place, I would never hate you for moving on. You still miss them even though you don't remember them, trust me, that's enough to prove how much you truly love them." Seungcheol explained, "And if they hate you for finding happiness, then I'm sorry to say this, they don't love you at all."

Jeonghan looked down, trying to calm himself.

Seungcheol pulled him into his embrace, "Don't worry Jeonghan, it's just your thoughts which are messing with you. Don't think over it much, let's just go with the flow and embrace whatever comes our way, okay?

I don't know who will stay with you and who won't. But I promise, Choi Seungcheol would never leave your hand, never. Even if someone starts hating you, let them be, because I'll always lo-"

"You'll always?" Jeonghan asked softly.

Love you.

"I'll always support you." Seungcheol patted his head, "Am I not enough for you? Will anyone's hatred overpower my feelings for you?"

"I'm sorry." Jeonghan muttered.

"Don't be." Seungcheol chuckled, "You're precious to me, Jeonghan."

"Thank you for being here for me, Seungcheol." Jeonghan clasped his hands tightly around the older, "Thank you for helping me heal. Thank you for taking all the panic attacks from my life. Thank you for making me feel loved again.

You held my hand at my worst. The more I'm with you, the more I learn to smile. I'm really grateful that I found you."

"And? How about the fact that you too healed me?" Seungcheol patted his back, "You don't know how much you've blessed me, just by existing."

'The day you'll heal completely, I'll gift you the best moment of your life.'

Seungcheol helped the younger to lay down again as he pulled him close to his chest, "Sleep well."

"As long as I've your embrace, I'm sleeping really well." Jeonghan chuckled as he closed his eyes.

Seungcheol kissed his head and gently caressed his back. But his own smile dropped.

Just when he was thinking that everything was falling into place, it happened again. He was already planning his next steps to bring Jeonghan closer to his past memories but it still wasn't the time yet.

But Seungcheol was keeping his patience. Well, it wasn't a new thing for him, was it? But just because he knew how to keep his emotions locked doesn't mean he deserved all this.

He was dying to say I love you to Jeonghan and hearing it back from him. But he didn't know how the younger was going to react. He didn't know if he was ready or not even though he was sure that Jeonghan loved him.

But accepting anything was much harder for Jeonghan than it could be imagined. Still, Seungcheol was grateful when he was looking back. Things had changed a lot. Even though the progress was slow, he was happy with it.

As long as Jeonghan was with him, he didn't care about anything else. All he wanted was the younger close to himself and it was all going to be fine, right?

Right.

•Serenity Mansion, morning•

Hoshi massaged his shoulders as he stood amidst the numerous gym machines while sweating heavily. He was shirtless and panting lightly as he was finally done with his chores.

"Hyung?"

Hoshi turned around to see Mingyu standing behind him, "Oh Mingyu! Too bad, I'm already done."

"What's all this?" Mingyu turned him around to look at his back.

"What?" Hoshi squinted his brows.

"Scratches?" Mingyu stared at them keenly, "And these marks- what-"

It was when Hoshi realised what Mingyu must have seen. He quickly backed away and chuckled hesitantly, "Are you going to workout alone?"

"Don't change the topic." Mingyu stared at him, "I very well know what these marks mean, hyung. Are you dating someone?"

"No." Hoshi looked away while wearing his t-shirt.

"Then?" Mingyu asked, "Who's it hyung? You can tell me, we're friends after all. Is it someone I know?"

Hoshi nodded.

"WHAT?!" Mingyu got excited, "Who?"

"Wo-" Hoshi hesitated, "Don't tell anyone okay? It's Woozi."

"So you guys actually started dating?" Mingyu smiled ear to ear.

"We're not dating." Hoshi scoffed, "We're not together."

"C'mon don't lie, these marks are proof." Mingyu teased.

"No Mingyu." Hoshi looked away, "We're not dating, I swear."

"Then it's just-" Mingyu's smile dropped, "Hook-ups?"

"MINGYU?!" Hoshi clenched his jaw, "Mind your words."

"I don't understand?" Mingyu was confused, "What did I say wrong? You guys are casually hooking up right?"

Hoshi grabbed his collars, "Don't you dare say that, Kim Mingyu."

Mingyu yanked him away, "What's wrong with you? You said you guys aren't dating yet you're sleeping around. I'm not calling you out, it's your choice. I'm just saying what's true."

Hoshi stared at him with rage as he clenched his fists, "You don't understand."

Mingyu held his arm, "YOU don't understand. I wasn't going to say anything but now I've a lot to say after seeing your reaction. You're irked to call it lust and you don't love him either? Then what is it?"

"Everything doesn't require a name Mingyu." Hoshi scoffed, "We just gave into a weak moment and then it continued like that. It doesn't need to be defined."

"More like you don't want to define it." Mingyu retorted, "Nothing is undefined hyung, all you need is some courage to introspect."

"What are you talking about?" Hoshi looked up.

"Grabbing my collars and yelling at me won't answer your questions." Mingyu stated, "You need to find out what you feel for him. Is it just games and fun or something much more than that?"

"I-" Hoshi was speechless.

"Don't mess it up hyung, you know yourself better than anyone." Mingyu assured, "Talk to yourself. I'm here as well."

"I feel guilty after I do it but when I see him I can't help it." Hoshi stated, "Before you get me wrong, I don't mean that I always want him on my bed. I want him close to myself. I feel like I'll lose him the day I stop everything. I don't want to lose him at any cost."

"Why would you say that?" Mingyu offered him water, "You definitely have feelings for him. This is not the way hyung, you can keep him close to yourself if you tell him your feelings."

"Will he accept it?" Hoshi turned towards the younger, "Never. Everytime I go to see him, he thinks I'm there to sleep with him. Why? Because that's what I've done. It's me who has turned it all in this way." He began to tear up while clutching his chest.

Mingyu embraced him from the side, "Hyung, you love him, clearly."

"Love is pure. Seungcheol hyung loves Jeonghan hyung, he was willing to spend his whole life with his memories. Jeonghan hyung loves him back, he couldn't forget his love even when he forgot everything.

You love Wonwoo, you gave up on your feelings just because you overheard him saying that he doesn't like getting teased. I can go on and give many examples and you know what? I don't have the courage to add my love after those examples.

What did I do to keep him close to myself? I feel like I'm a cheap bastard." Hoshi started crying heavily, "I chose the worst path because I couldn't understand my feelings on time. It's too late. I'm ashamed of myself, I can't even look at him now."

"Hyung please? You didn't comit a sin, he's equally involved right?" Mingyu consoled him.

"He was but it was always me initiating it and insisting to indulge into those things." Hoshi sniffled.

"So what? If he said yes then he's involved too. You didn't force him to do anything." Mingyu caressed his shoulder, "Now you've realised your feelings. So instead of messing it up, just sort it out with him."

"I can't." Hoshi gulped, "I'm not- he deserves much better than me." He grabbed his hair in frustration, "I'm definitely not the one for him."

"Then? Are you going to continue all this?" Mingyu scrunched his brows, "Even after knowing that you love him, how will you even look at him in that way?"

"I won't." Hoshi wiped his tears, "It's over. We need to stop."

"Hyung, it will be worse." Mingyu warned, "You-"

"Thank you Mingyu, you opened my eyes." Hoshi patted his shoulder and left immediately.

"Thank you? More like I should say sorry." Mingyu mumbled to himself, "What is he going to do?"

Hoshi had made his decision, unaware of the fact that someone was planning to confess his feelings to him. Now, it was all a game of time.

A/n : Next chapter is Bittersweet. Just saying.

I hope no one is getting bored or something.

Anyways take care everyone!
-Jeonghanneyonghaseyo